It's been a sluggish start to the rainy season in Marin following a very dry spring.

As October winds down, a paltry .02 inches of rain have been recorded by the Marin Municipal Water District at Lake Lagunitas for the month. Average rainfall for October is 2.72 inches and last year 3.07 inches fell during the month, according to the district.

"We are definitely keeping an eye on that," Michael Ban, environmental and engineering services manager for the water district, said of the rainfall — or lack thereof.

The water district already has made one move to save water: It used the Nicasio Reservoir for three months longer than usual this year to supply water to the county. Nicasio Reservoir is the first of the district's seven reservoirs to fill and spill when the rains come, so it was drawn down more than usual to create more capacity, Ban explained.

While overall reservoir storage is at about average, district officials hope the rains start soon. Since July 1, 1.16 inches has fallen, compared to 3.23 inches normally seen by this time of year. Last year 3.13 inches of rain had come down.

It looked to be a banner rainy season last winter as storms were plentiful last fall and in the early winter. Through Christmas 2012 the Marin Municipal Water District recorded 31.25 inches of rain at Lake Lagunitas on Mount Tamalpais, about twice as much as normal.

But the district recorded a mere 5.15 inches of rain from January through May. On average, 32.82 inches falls during that period, based on rainfall records dating back 135 years.

The National Weather Service has not been able to determine if this coming rainy season will be wet or dry, instead calling it "neutral."

"There is no rain for the rest of October and the next week looks mostly sunny and dry," said Bob Benjamin, meteorologist with the weather service. "But it's still early in the rainy season. We are a little behind, but the heavy rains usually don't start until November."